Surgical needle with bonded suture



July 30, 1968 E. E. DERY 3,394,704

SURGICAL NEEDLE WITH BONDED SUTURE Filed Oct. 20, 1965 INVENTOR EDMUND EDEQY 2th ML, W2, W

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,394,704 SURGICAL NEEDLE WITH BONDED SUTURE Edmund E. Dery, New Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Torrington Company, Torrington, Conn., a corporation of Maine Filed Oct. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 498,566 5 Claims. (Cl. 128339) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Disclosed herein is a needle configuration including a needle having a generally cylindrical body portion pointed at one end thereof and having a generally cylindrically sectioned bore at the opposite end thereof in which is located the end portion of a thread. The thread is maintained within the smooth surface of the generally cylindrical bore only by the bonding provided by a bonding agent located therein. The bore opening is specifically configured to prevent the rupturing or breaking of the thread adjacent the joinder thereof with the needle body portion.

This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in needle construction, and more particularly to a needle of the type having a permanently attached thread. The invention finds particular use in connection with surgical needles having 'bonded sutures.

A primary object of this invention is to attach a thread to a needle by means of a bonding or retaining agent in a manner wherein the components are united more easily and uniformly for maximum strength requirements and at the same time the needle design is simplified, the quality of the needle is improved and the sewing, suturing or lacing, etc. operation is benefited.

Prior to this invention, needles of this type, commonly referred to in the trade as swage on sutured needles or by the trade name Atraumatic needles in order to differentiate them from the eyed type, consisted of two main classes generally known in the trade as the channel type and the drill end or seamless type. Each of these two types had numerous disadvantages which are overcome by this invention.

The channel type has a groove struck at the extremity of the needle at the end opposite the point and at various angles relative to the point configuration or needle curvature. Raised triangular protrusions or corrugations extend across the bottom of the groove and after the thread has been inserted into the groove, the side walls of the groove are crimped or swaged around the thread, thereby effecting a gripping action on the thread by the corrugations. This type of needle is the least attractive in appearance and offers the poorest quality of Atraumatic needle. The

reason for this is that it is diflicult to form a cylindrical shape at the channel in the end section to a smooth tight closure because of metal flow characteristics and shape of the groove. Thus, trauma or tissue opening is not minimized when the needle is utilized for surgical purposes, a contaminating carrier pocket may result, metal flaking or burrs caused by metal flow may leave a residue in the tissue which could create damage, packing fluids could be carried over to the tissue to cause irritation, and sharp edges along the channel clip-off walls as well as the corrugation could fracture the thread during the closing of the channel or in the use of the needle. Also, since the needle requires cold working to attach the thread, the channel end must be annealed after heat treatment of the needle to allow the metal to flow without cracking severely, resulting in a weak wall and therefore poor grip ping force, a non-uniform heat treatment or a soft end which could bend excessively during use, and a recurving 3,394,704 Patented July 30, 1968 operation to provide a full needle curvature for a smooth steady sewing or suturing action during use. This design also requires close tolerance manufacturing of the wire size, groove, corrugation and thread in order to provide a uniformly tight closure around the thread and avoid fracturing thread during the closing or swaging operation.

The drill end type is subsequently an improvement over the channel type in that the tapped hole, having radial protrusions, located at the extremity of the needle at the end opposite the point is crimped or swaged around the thread resulting in a stronger one piece, seamless wall, a better gripping action because of the full threads and a Wire size diameter which minimizes trauma. However, there are disadvantages in this type of needle in that the needle requires minimum size drilling and tapping to close tolerance diameters, including the thread sizes, the tap threads are diificult to clean out residue, the root sections of the tap threads have a tendency to cause fracturing of the needle wall during cold reworking and fracture the needle during closure if tolerance is not maintained. In order to swage on the thread, the drilled end portion requires annealing after heat treatment, maintaining a nonuniform metallurgical structure or a soft bendable end. The cold working may also cause flaking of the metallic surface harmful to tissue, and if stainless steel is used for the needle material, it may lose some of its stainless qualities during annealing and rust, which may also be harmful to tissue.

It is therefore a further object of this invention to provide a bonded threaded needle which overcomes the disadvantages of the aforementioned types of Atraumatic needles.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a needle with bonded thread formed in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sect-ional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and shows in detail the structure of the end of the needle remote from' the point thereof.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view with parts broken away and shown in section along the line 33 of FIGURE 2 and shows more specifically the construction of the end of the needle remote from the point and the manner in which the thread is attached thereto.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that there is illustrated a needle formed in accordance with this invention, the needle being generally referred to by the numeral 5 and having a permanently attached thread 6. The needle 5 includes an elongated body 7 which terminates at one end in a point 8. The thread 6 projects from the opposite end of the needle.

Referring now to FIGURE 3 in particular, it will be seen that the end of the needle body 7 remote from the point 8 has a bore 9 which has been drilled therein. The bore 9 is preferably provided with a flared counterbore 10. The thread 6 is initially loosely receivable within the bore 9 and is completely surrounded by a bonding agent 11 which is adhesively bonded thereto. The bonding agent 11 is also bonded to the relatively smooth wall of the bore 9. It is to be understood that the connection between the needle and the thread 'is strictly one of bonding by the bonding agent and the bonding agent 11 is in shear when the thread 6 is tensioned.

It is also pointed out at this time that the end of the 3 needle body 7 to which the thread 6 is attached may be rounded as at 12. The purpose of the flared opening 10 and the rounding 12 is to eliminate any sharp edge which the thread 6 can contact when the thread 6 is bent at a sharp angle relative to the needle 5 in the use of the needle. Inasmuch as the thread 6 is secured to the needle body 7 by means of the bonding agent or adhesive 11 and since the needle body has no sharp corners which the thread 6 can contact, it will be readily apparent that accidental fracture or rupture of the thread 6 either due to the securement thereof to the needle body or the engagement thereof with the needle body during the use of the needle and thread assembly is eliminated.

At this time it is pointed out that the needle body 7 may be straight as opposed to the curved configuration shown in the drawing. Also, the threaded 6 may be of the multi-braided strand type illustrated or it may be of the mono-filament type. Further, the thread 6 is not limited to any particular material and may be thread utilized for conventional sewing or may be suture material. Also, it is not necessary that the bore 9 be formed by drilling and that it may be formed by heading or other similar machining operations depending upon the desire of the manufacturer.

The needle and thread assembly of this invention has numerous advantages. In the first place, it is not necessary that the diameter of the bore 9 be strictly maintained nor is it necessary that the diameter of the needle body 7 at the bore 9 be maintained in that any variations between the diameter of the thread and the diameter of the bore 9 will be taken up in the adhesive material 11.

In view of the fact that the thread is secured to the needle by means of the adhesive material 11, it will be apparent that no special machining of the needle body is required to provide a mechanical interlock with the thread. Furthermore, because there is no clamping of the thread by the metal of the needle body 7, there is no weakening of the thread and, accordingly, the accidental fracture or rupture of the thread 6 at its connection with the needle is prevented.

The elimination of Working of the needle body 7 in the securement of the thread 6 has numerous advantages. First of all, the needle body 7 may have a smooth, seamless surface throughout the length thereof. The metallurgical structure of the needle metal is improved in that 'it may be of uniform hardness throughout its length with the metal being less ductible at the thread end thereof, there being less danger of fracturing of the side wall of the needle or the thread or suture material, and there being no metallic residue harmful to tissue.

It is also pointed out here that the needle is stronger in that the apertured end thereof is solidly filled with the thread and the bonding agent so as to eliminate any possible collapse of the side wall of the needle body by handling methods. Also, since the bore 9 is-substantially filled and is closed by the bonding agent, there is a less tendency for harmful contaminating carrier to tissues. Also, because the wire size of the needle may be held to a minimum and the rough surfaces have been eliminated, there will be less resultant trauma.

Although only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been specifically illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that minor variations may be made in the needle construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A needle having a permanently attached thread, said needle comprising a body of only a single homogeneous metallic material terminating in a smoothly pointed end, said body being of a constant external section and having a smooth external surface, said body having an end portion remote from said pointed end, said end portion having a smooth wall bore of constant section along a major portion of the length thereof, said thread having an end loosely received in said bore, and a bonding agent generally filling said bore and being bonded to both said thread and said wall, said bore having a smooth tapered entrance opening away from said thread and said bonding agent to prevent the accidental rupture of said thread when bent relative to said needle and while bonded by said bonding agent.

2. The needle of claim 1 wherein said bore wall is cylindrical and said bonding agent forms the sole securing means between said thread and said bore wall.

3. The needle of claim 1 wherein said needle is a surgical needle and said thread is a suture.

4. The needle of claim 1 wherein said needle is a surgical needle and said thread is a suture, and said needle is free of metal particles of the type normally formed during the working of the metal of the needle to secure the suture in place.

5. The needle of claim 1 wherein said needle has a uniform metallurgical structure whereby freedom from localized bending and fracture is assured.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,558,037 10/1925 Morton 128339 1,757,129 5/1930 McClure 128-339 2,411,079 11/1946 Baule 128339 2,910,983 11/1959 Everett 128339 2,928,395 3/1960 Forbes et al. 128-3355 FOREIGN PATENTS 687,597 2/1953 Great Britain.

DALTON L. TRULUCK, Primary Examiner. 

